Happily Ever After Begins Here -- An Oct. 2012 TR Updated! 11/17!

[natebenma]

Nothing like having MK to yourselves until 3 am!

What beautiful detailed amazing pictures!!!

Fantasyland looks like a really cool vantage point to see Wishes. I've never seen it from there! (or anywhere)

What did you think of Jungle Cruise at night? It's great seeing the nocturnal animals out and about, but truly, we were underwhelmed by the experience. It could have been the skipper we had. She seemed to miss a lot and was kind of behind on all of her commentary.

I remain in awe of Franklin's pictures inside the rides! Peter Pan- never noticed the crocodile in the scene where Wendy is walking the plank. And where is the hanging (doll?) in HM? Is it in the attic?

You guys truly kicked some MK butt that night/morning!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Storybook Circus is so pretty at night, I love it!

Walk on Peter Pan? That never happens! Duly noted.....EMH at night at MK.

I love the shot Franklin got of the person hanging in the stretching room. Very cool!

I love the Whip Me Locks shirt too! Cracks me up.

Impressive! You made it all the way to 3am.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Awesome photos inside Haunted Mansion!!
You closed the park! Would love to get a crack at that one day. (before I'm too old to stay up that late )
I don't think I have ever seen Peter Pan a walk on! Not even first thing in the morning. There is always some sort of line to ride there. Great job getting so much done in an empty park.

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Wow! I'm impressed that y'all went all the way until 3am! But it sounds like you had a great experience at EMH. It must have been really great to just walk right on everything.

 

[Angeejoe]

Missyrose,

What an awesome TR! Dee on the BC/YC thread had recommended reading your TR for the great content & beautiful pictures, this was a wonderful recommendation! I just subscribed. Thank you so much for sharing, I can't wait to read what happens next!

When will you be there in Oct? My DH & I will be there 10/28-11/3@ BC. It will be our 1st F&W & 1st MNSSHP.

Angeejoe

 

[happenin2you]

Congrats to you guys for making it all the way to the end of EMH!!! That's gonna be a goal of mine for my next trip. I prefer the parks at night, they're just so festive. And as always, the photos are amazing!

 

[rachel09985]

Thanks for the complements, everyone!​

Can I tell you a little secret?
The lens I used for Wishes in this chapter, the Tokina 11-16mm, I bought it used, directly from...
Tom Bricker​

Lol! Too funny!!! Nice work!

 

[Shazzasmd]

Beautiful Photos and great narration (Of Course!).


(I went out of town for a month, and checked back in - surely we will have the Proposal Posted by now ... ) That's ok, loving the TR, and will head over to check out your latest (as in 3 of 3) TR.

 

[Missyrose]

Looks like you had tons of fun at EMH! I have never seen such clear pictures of HM/Pirates and JC at night! Seriously!

I once went on Pirates about 10 minutes before park closing (during EMH) ALONE. Now, normally I do not mind being alone at the parks or at Disney hotels (except occasionally when walking to/from the bus stop if it's really lush and full of trees) but this ride was CREEPY! I saw a cast member outside when I entered the queue. Then I saw the cast members that told me which boat to get on. I saw not a single guest until I was off the ride. No one was in any boat I could see ahead of me. No one was on my boat with me. No one was in any boats that were behind me. It was totally scary, but I still loved it! And I didn't use my flash! Hahahaha

I don't think I've ever lasted until 3am though, 2 maybe. Good job!!!

Oh my gosh! I would love to have POC all to myself. And I would be totally creeped out to be by myself, but totally enthralled at the same time.

Nothing like having MK to yourselves until 3 am!

What beautiful detailed amazing pictures!!!

It was awesome to stroll around the empty park. We had a blast that night. Don't get me wrong, it was exhausting. But totally worth it.

Fantasyland looks like a really cool vantage point to see Wishes. I've never seen it from there! (or anywhere)

The list of places you need to see Wishes from keeps growing. The first step will be getting you to actually SEE Wishes from anywhere... which you will be doing in less than a month!

What did you think of Jungle Cruise at night? It's great seeing the nocturnal animals out and about, but truly, we were underwhelmed by the experience. It could have been the skipper we had. She seemed to miss a lot and was kind of behind on all of her commentary.

We had a great night ride, our skipper was pretty funny and especially deadpan. I do think you lose some of the detail at night, but the atmosphere of the ride is so different.

I remain in awe of Franklin's pictures inside the rides! Peter Pan- never noticed the crocodile in the scene where Wendy is walking the plank. And where is the hanging (doll?) in HM? Is it in the attic?

You guys truly kicked some MK butt that night/morning!

The hanging doll is in the stretching room, it's "the only way out." We really did kick some MK butt, it was an evening your commando boys would have been proud of!

Storybook Circus is so pretty at night, I love it!

Walk on Peter Pan? That never happens! Duly noted.....EMH at night at MK.

I love the shot Franklin got of the person hanging in the stretching room. Very cool!

I love the Whip Me Locks shirt too! Cracks me up.

Impressive! You made it all the way to 3am.

I think I like Storybook Circus better at night than during the day, the colors and the lights really come alive.

I was shocked when we walked on PP, that was when I stopped and said "why have we avoided EMH all these years?"

Awesome photos inside Haunted Mansion!!
You closed the park! Would love to get a crack at that one day. (before I'm too old to stay up that late )
I don't think I have ever seen Peter Pan a walk on! Not even first thing in the morning. There is always some sort of line to ride there. Great job getting so much done in an empty park.

Closing down the park is so much fun. We tend to do that on most nights at MK. We let the crowds roll out, hanging back, getting a late-night snack or doing some last-minute shopping. And then once the crowds have disappeared, we head out. Much less stressful that way.

Wow! I'm impressed that y'all went all the way until 3am! But it sounds like you had a great experience at EMH. It must have been really great to just walk right on everything.

I was surprised we made it all the way till 3, I'm glad we got to try it once before they shaved EMH back to two hours.

Missyrose,

What an awesome TR! Dee on the BC/YC thread had recommended reading your TR for the great content & beautiful pictures, this was a wonderful recommendation! I just subscribed. Thank you so much for sharing, I can't wait to read what happens next!

When will you be there in Oct? My DH & I will be there 10/28-11/3@ BC. It will be our 1st F&W & 1st MNSSHP.

Angeejoe

Yay! I'm so glad you're enjoying the TR. I love writing them (and Franklin loves taking the pictures for them)! We'll be at Yacht Club Oct. 20-25, we'll just miss you. We're going to fly from Disney to Aruba on Oct. 25 and just chill on the beach for the second half of our honeymoon.

Congrats to you guys for making it all the way to the end of EMH!!! That's gonna be a goal of mine for my next trip. I prefer the parks at night, they're just so festive. And as always, the photos are amazing!

Thanks! I can't wait to hear how you do closing down the park.

Beautiful Photos and great narration (Of Course!).


(I went out of town for a month, and checked back in - surely we will have the Proposal Posted by now ... ) That's ok, loving the TR, and will head over to check out your latest (as in 3 of 3) TR.

Thanks Sharon. We're getting closer to the proposal, I swear. We've made some real progress since you've been gone, it's time for a new Disney day!​

 

[Missyrose]

Hello friends! We last left off with some real EMH fun at MK, we’d closed the park down after 3 a.m. Needless to say, we were in desperate need for sleep. And being the fantastic Disney planner that I am, we had absolutely nothing planned the next morning so we could sleep. The original plan was to have some pool time, but we were so zonked from the night before, we ended up just lounging around the villa and balcony until after lunchtime.

Before we knew it, it was time to get dressed for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and this year, we were dressing up!

I won’t give away our costumes just yet, but I will say that Franklin’s involved bright yellow sneakers I’d procured off eBay. And as we made our way to the lobby of AKL, the entire shoe just fell apart.

Franklin ran back up to the room to grab a pair of flip flops, I had an idea for backup shoes for him once we got to the park. We waited less than five minutes for a bus. And soon, we had arrived at MK.

It was early, just after 3 so no party festivities yet.

But we had places to be, namely, a late-lunch ADR at The Plaza.

The skies looked a little threatening while we waited to be buzzed in.

It worried me because there had been a couple of rain-filled parties earlier in the week. I really didn’t want our party to get washed out.We didn’t have much time to worry because our table was ready and we were HUNGRY!

The restaurant wasn’t very busy. The people in the park who didn’t have party tickets likely didn’t want to waste time on a TS meal when the park hours were so short to begin with. And the party-goers wouldn’t be allowed to enter on their party tickets until 4. Ah, the joys of an annual pass. Our plan was to enjoy this leisurely late lunch/early dinner, that way we wouldn’t waste any party time eating a meal.

Franklin got a burger.

I got the cheesesteak.

And you can’t eat at The Plaza and NOT get dessert. In this case, we split a hot fudge sundae.

After lunch, we stopped at the Emporium to get Franklin’s replacement shoes. So without further ado, I give you Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

Yep, Franklin and I dressed up as the head mice at Disney. We got lots of attention. CMs kept referring to Franklin as “the boss.” We’d only worn Halloween T-shirts to last year’s party, so dressing up this time was a ton of fun. We’re definitely hooked!

We grabbed our party wristbands in Tomorrowland and since it was about to pour, we headed for Town Square Theater. We wanted to be first in line for the Princes and Princesses! We started the line for the party, the CMs were impressed with our punctuality! And soon there were a couple of dozen people in line behind us. We chatted with the family directly behind us. They had two daughters, both princess fanatics (and both done up in their Bibbitty Boppity Boutique finest for the party). They were absolutely adorable and their parents were really sweet. This was their first trip to Disney, so Franklin and I gave them some party and touring tips for the rest of their stay. Before we knew it, the party had begun and it was time to meet some royalty!

First up was Rapunzel and her oh-so-gorgeous man, Eugene er, Flynn Ryder. Here’s a tip, ask him what’s in his satchel. He made me pinkie promise not to tell.

Then he made us close our eyes.

And voila! We got to see what was in there. I can’t tell you what it is, but I will give you a hint. It may have at one time belonged to his beloved Punzy.

Look at that smolder! One more fun interaction story. Franklin had been dying to ask Rapunzel why her hair was long and blonde, when Flynn Rider had cut it all off at the end of their movie. Without hesitation she answered: “I loved my long, blonde hair, so we conjured up enough magic to bring it back.” So cute!

Onward to the next royal couple. I’m not going to lie, Snow and her Prince were a tad, um, boring.

Cinderella and Prince Charming were adorable. She said she hadn’t had the chance to hang out with mice in quite some time! She also told us that some of her favorite mice might be hanging around Magic Kingdom that night. Sadly, we never caught up with Suzy and Perla.

With our big party meet and greet out of the way (and it was only 7:05!), we made our way up to the hub to see what was going on.

We saw the Tremaines doing their M&G, so we hopped in line. While waiting, Franklin took a picture of me with my favorite Mouse.

It was time to meet the evil stepmother and stepsisters! They were a serious hoot. And it made me really want to try 1900 Park Fare for dinner some time.

After we finished with Cindy’s wacky family. A CM mentioned that Gaston would be coming out in a few minutes if we wanted to hang around and start the line. Who can say no to Gaston?!?!

We snapped some photos in front of the castle, while grooving out to the Villains Mix and Mingle show.

We hung a right and headed toward Fantasyland to see who we could run into. We managed to get up to meet Alice right as the White Rabbit had to leave for a carrot break.

Then it was onto everyone’s favorite duck, who was dressed as a dashing knight!

We saw Aurora and Prince Phillip meeting nearby. But as we approached the line, the CM told us they would be leaving after the last family. But she said they’d be back in less than 15 minutes if we wanted to wait. We had some time before we needed to go stake out a spot for Hallowishes, so we plopped down on the wall to wait. Franklin, of course, managed to take a beautiful photo while I tweeted out some of our party activities so far.

Soon Sleeping Beauty was back for our little double-date photo.

That’s where we’ll leave off for now, but don’t go too far. We’ve got Hallowishes and the Boo to You Parade coming up and you won’t want to miss that!
​

 

[fabulousfive]

I love your photos! I too am a photographer, but my style is completely different. I tend to put the camera down at night as I use only natural light - hence, getting all my shots during the day. Disney in the dark all lit up is gorgeous! I'm inspired what you do! I was wondering what device you use to download your cards to at night. I always am considering a portable something but don't know exactly what to get. Can you share what you have for backing up your cards while traveling? Thanks! Can't wait to get to the MK post of yours.

 

[chunkymonkey]

This TR is great! My favorite topics...a great WDW trip, yummy food, photography talk, fabulous pictures, and now...costumes!?!?! Woooaah, coolness overload. Love the outfits! And the shoes worked out on it's own didn't they? LOL. Can't believe the shoe disintegrated like that!

It looks like you guys had a great time. I will be sure to buy DVC one day. Seems just up our alley!

 

[fabulousfive]

Wow!!!! Amazing ride photos! How in the world did you get those in low light? I have a Canon 5D ( old model) and mostly keep my 50mm 1.2 on it. I can't imagine my images looking that good! Can you share your equipment & exposures? Would love to try this on our next trip! Thanks for sharing. Your images make me smile.

 

[Missyrose]

This TR is great! My favorite topics...a great WDW trip, yummy food, photography talk, fabulous pictures, and now...costumes!?!?! Woooaah, coolness overload. Love the outfits! And the shoes worked out on it's own didn't they? LOL. Can't believe the shoe disintegrated like that!

It looks like you guys had a great time. I will be sure to buy DVC one day. Seems just up our alley!

I think the new shoes totally made Franklin's ensemble, don't you think? The funny thing is when we bought them, he asked if he should go stick his flip flops in the locker. I told him to wear the flip flops in the slippers to give him some support on the concrete and that worked out perfectly!

Luckily, the eBay owner I bought from was embarrassed by the shoes and sent me a full refund.

DVC is easily the best purchase(s) we've ever made. It's so much fun to plan new trips, we just booked our Star Wars Weekend trip for next May!
​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I'm glad the eBay person refunded your money. The shoe incident turned out for the best after all. The Mickey shoes made the costume a big hit.

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[Pixel Dust]

I love your photos! I too am a photographer, but my style is completely different. I tend to put the camera down at night as I use only natural light - hence, getting all my shots during the day. Disney in the dark all lit up is gorgeous! I'm inspired what you do! I was wondering what device you use to download your cards to at night. I always am considering a portable something but don't know exactly what to get. Can you share what you have for backing up your cards while traveling? Thanks! Can't wait to get to the MK post of yours.

Thanks for joining in! I use mostly natural light, also. At night, I would use a wide open aperture and push the ISO a bit. Or put it on a tripod and do a low ISO and long exposure. The only flash pictures are just from this chapter for MNSSHP. The character meets are outdoors and at night. Just an extremely dark situation. The Tremaines photo was at f/2.8, 1/100, ISO 3200, and -1 flash exposure compensation. A higher ISO will bring out the background, in flash photos.

My backup setup isn't exactly portable. But, it's portable enough. We got a netbook (small 10" laptop) that was only $250. It has a built-in card reader. So, that was a bonus. We also bought a portable external hard drive. You want to get the "portable" hard drive, because a "desktop" external hard drive requires a power outlet. The portable ones don't need a power cable. Always make 2 copies. One goes to the portable hard drive, and the other stays on the laptop. The camera card gets erased, since it usually holds one day of photos for me. 24 MP RAW files are HUGE! ​

This TR is great! My favorite topics...a great WDW trip, yummy food, photography talk, fabulous pictures, and now...costumes!?!?! Woooaah, coolness overload. Love the outfits! And the shoes worked out on it's own didn't they? LOL. Can't believe the shoe disintegrated like that!

It looks like you guys had a great time. I will be sure to buy DVC one day. Seems just up our alley!

The white part of the shoes felt like it was styrofoam and the rubber just flaked off. Putting the flip flops in the slippers was a great idea. It was still damp out from the afternoon rain. The slippers were soaking up the water, but the flip flops were keeping my feet somewhat dry.​

Wow!!!! Amazing ride photos! How in the world did you get those in low light? I have a Canon 5D ( old model) and mostly keep my 50mm 1.2 on it. I can't imagine my images looking that good! Can you share your equipment & exposures? Would love to try this on our next trip! Thanks for sharing. Your images make me smile.

Thank you so much! I have the Nikon D600. For The Seas with Nemo & Friends, I used the 50mm f/1.4. My ISO was set at 6400. Shutter speed was around 1/50 to 1/100, depending on the scene brightness. Crush, in the current, was very dark. We got lucky and the ride just stopped in there. The last part, where the characters are in the aquarium, is much brighter. You could probably lower the ISO at that point.

Don't be discouraged if they come out blurry. It's a moving ride! It takes a bit of practice. That just means you'll have to ride it again and again!

Your 5D can handle dark rides. Especially with the f/1.2! And use the f/1.2 at night, you will be surprised.​

I'm glad the eBay person refunded your money. The show incident turned out for the best after all. The Mickey shoes made the costume a big hit.

We were getting quite a bit of attention. Not just from the CMs, but guests too. I was not used to it. A few took pictures of us. But yes, the shoes just set off the costume.​

 

[abbybeth]

your costumes turned out really cute! I think that dressing up for MNSSHP just adds another layer to the fun that already exists. It completes ups the amount of interaction with the characters, CMs and other guests! This year will be the first time that I'll be going as part of a pair, so I'm looking forward to our coordinating get-ups

 

[khertz]

LOVE your costumes!! I thought about doing Minnie Mouse myself this year, but I found that Tink costume super cheap and decided to dress Paxton as Peter Pan to have a theme happening instead.

The food at the Plaza looks delicious!

Our plan for the party is to do the princesses & princes first too, since they are more my top priority than the 7 Dwarfs. Do you remember how early you got into line for the Town Square Theater? Trying to come up with a good plan to get a lot of character meets in before the parade & fireworks and while Paxton is still awake!!

Can't wait to see the parade & fireworks photos. I know they will just be amazing!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Your costumes are SO cute! You look great!!! I have yet to be organized enough to pack my regular clothes much in advance let alone plan out a costume but maybe someday! It really looks fun!

YUM-O to the Plaza. Love it there. Best french fries ever!

Will have to remember to ask Eugene about his satchel. Now I'm curious!!